Was Jesus “Christlike?” — The Christian God has been twisted into something not unlike that of radical Islam

Last updated on: April 22, 2015 at 5:48 am By Frank Schaeffer

“The Christian God has been twisted into something not unlike that of radical Islam.” So says Brad Jersak. We first met because we were both interviewed for the movie “Hellbound?” Then we became friends. Now Brad has an important book out–A More Christlike God–that challenges the received lazy “wisdom” of both conservatives and liberals, atheists and believers about Christ. Here’s my interview with Brad on this important and beautifully written book. Q: Tell my readers a bit about your background. Brad: Like you Frank, I... Read more

So who will Rubio and Cruz take America back from?

Last updated on: April 19, 2015 at 7:28 am By Frank Schaeffer

Rubio stands out for his religion-broken brain. He converted from Roman Catholicism to Mormonism — then back again. Still, maybe the good old RC isn’t sexy enough for this guy. As Jeffrey Tayler points out in Salon, He two-times Pope Francis by going to a megachurch in Miami Christ Fellowship. Christ Fellowship is sort of nuts. They do demonology stuff, exorcism, and teach Young Earth creationism. They (sort of like Gordon college, Boston area bastion of gay hate) demand employees certify they’re not “practicing... Read more

Once in a while I see the work of a young artist and a bomb goes off in my head

Last updated on: April 18, 2015 at 3:45 pm By Frank Schaeffer

Once in a while I see the work of a young artist and a bomb goes off in my head— I mean that in a good way. Heather Murphy is one such artist. Her work reminds me of O’Keefe, with shades of Warhol. She can paint! But her painting has a freedom to it that’s stunning. I mean— what to make of an artist that paints rock star icons AND flowers, pop posters that could have been Pink... Read more

Why This Atheist Who Believes in God — Says the Nicene Creed and Sort of Means It

Last updated on: April 8, 2015 at 7:06 am By Frank Schaeffer

I say the Nicene Creed. I say the words “I believe” this and that. I say these words in good conscience, because saying I believe in God is not the same as saying I know what those words mean. I don’t. Words fall short. I don’t know what words such as “Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father” mean. Then again I don’t know what the words “I love... Read more

“religious freedom” garbage, it’s time to call the religious right’s trash what it really is

Last updated on: April 2, 2015 at 11:30 am By Frank Schaeffer

“Any time right-wing conservatives declare that they are trying to restore or reclaim something, we should all be very afraid. Usually, this means the country or, in this case, the state of Indiana is about to be treated to another round of backward time travel, to the supposedly idyllic environs of the 1950s, wherein women, and gays, and blacks knew their respective places and stayed in them.” So writes Brittney Cooper arguably America’s most prescient commentator on race, women, politics and... Read more

Why Do Right Wing Christian Families Think They “Own” Their Children?

Last updated on: March 30, 2015 at 4:26 pm By Frank Schaeffer

“In the Iron Age mindset of the Bible writers, children are not individual persons who have their own thoughts, with corresponding rights. Rather, like livestock and slaves, they are possessions of the male head of household, and the biblical framework governing treatment of children is property laws, not individual rights laws. “The term chattelrefers to moveable personal property, economic assets that are not real estate. In the Bible, children, like slaves and livestock, are chattel. Male children grow up to become... Read more

Will California face a backlash for its homophobic legislation like Uganda Did?

Last updated on: March 27, 2015 at 8:29 am By Frank Schaeffer

“So will the State of California face the threat of similar federal sanctions for its own proposed “kill the gays” referendum? In attempting to put the Sodomite Suppression Act – which allows “any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification” to “be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method” – on the ballot in California, attorney Matt McLaughlin has made it clear that too many people in the United States are... Read more

California: “shoot the gays” proposal

Last updated on: March 24, 2015 at 12:37 pm By Frank Schaeffer

According to the Guardian a California lawyer says he wants to legalize the execution of gay people, and there may be nothing the state’s attorney general can do to stop the proposal from moving forward. Matt McLaughlin, an attorney in Huntington Beach, California, filed paperwork to bring his proposal, which would sanction the killing of gay and lesbian residents on the basis of their sexuality, before voters in November 2016. Lauren Gambino in Los Angeles Monday 23 March 2015, reports for the Guardian that... Read more

Can Ted Cruz revive the evangelicalism of the past?

Last updated on: March 24, 2015 at 8:08 am By Frank Schaeffer

“LYNCHBURG, VA – Ted Cruz came to this southern town Monday to launch his presidential campaign, but also to revive a strain of American evangelicalism that was birthed here in the 1980s. Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, traveled to the home of Liberty University, an institution born in 1971 that now boasts a student body of 13,800 and touts itself as “the largest Christian university in the world.” Liberty is a monument to the determination of its founder, the... Read more

Religious Right Still Dominates the GOP

Last updated on: March 20, 2015 at 6:17 am By Frank Schaeffer

The GOP is still kowtowing to the Christian Right. When will that change? That the evangelical right already controls the GOP shouldn’t really be in dispute. Not only do the Republicans do exactly as the Christian right tells them on every social issue, such as reproductive rights or gay rights, but Republicans also pay fealty to the Christian right by targeting Muslim countries with their hawkish posturing or using Christian language to rationalize slashing the social safety net. If you were trying... Read more